Who presumes to criticize art? Art is beyond any criticism. Art is what it is.And art is intentional as it is. Criticism would disregard the idea of the artist from his work. If the work of art not just as the artist had wished to create, he would have destroyed it.

The preceding critique completely misses the point. It is a criticism of critiques, which doesn't do you any good! The point of art criticism should be to help the artist refine their technique. How else do people improve?

When I look at this piece, the sky immediately identifies the scene as alien. That is the most striking part of the piece. The reflection in the pools is a great idea and the accurate reflection gives a sense of realism.

If what you meant to convey is a mix of the familiar and the foreign, that is communicated readily. While the pools are unusual in their shape and position -- at least to me -- the green of the plants and overall geological shape of the landscape is very familiar.

Those are the two opposing elements that I see, the familiar and alien. This is a common theme in sci-fi illustration. If one were to want to make a less "Earth" scene, one could look to uncommon geological formations and plant life for inspiration (columnar basalt for example, that stuff is weird); the thing that will ultimately convince us that we're looking at something otherworldly will be your imagination.